The UTA College of Nursing already has more than two dozen partner hospitals in Arlington, Longview, Beaumont, Dallas, and other areas. HCA Methodist Healthcare is the university's first partner hospital in the greater San Antonio area.

The addition of HCA Methodist Healthcare as a partner hospital will support the accelerated BSN program at the UTA College of Nursing. The accelerated BSN program can be completed in 15 months and includes online coursework and clinical experiences in partner hospitals.

The UTA College of Nursing established the accelerated BSN program in response to a growing need for registered nurses and a lack of program spaces to educate new nurses. According to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies, Texas had a shortage of 22,000 registered nurses in 2008 and that shortage is expected to increase to 70,000 by the year 2020. However, Texas nursing schools have been turning away qualified applicants owing to a lack of funding, faculty, and clinical slots, according to information released by the university. Programs like UTA's accelerated BSN degree and the Academic Partnerships program with hospitals such as HCA Methodist, are helping the state increase the number of registered nurses.

"The Academic Partnership BSN program allows UT Arlington to educate nurses in their communities and, in doing so, provides a ready workforce for our hospital partners," said Elizabeth Poster, dean of the UT Arlington College of Nursing, in a prepared statement. "We have been gratified at the response to our approach in addressing the state's nursing shortage. We are especially proud that the graduates of this program option have licensure pass rates and graduation rates of more than 90 percent and employment success as new RN graduates."

The UTA College of Nursing has also launched a Professional Nursing Pathways Program for community college students who want to earn a BSN degree in 13 months through its Academic Partnership RN-to-BSN program.

The University of Texas at Arlington serves nearly 33,500 undergraduate and graduate students, and its College of Nursing supports over 7,500 students.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at leilameyer@gmail.com.